richard kim
GRITtv: Richard Kim & Betsy Reed: Compromise or Fight?
"I think the deal is totally rotten, I think it's the best rotten deal the Democrats could've gotten," says Richard Kim of The Nation of Obama's tax cut compromise. His colleague Betsy Reed, though, notes that by compromising now, heading into an even more conservative Congress, Democrats are setting themselves up for far worse deals in the future--"Where are we going to draw the line ultimately?"Betsy and Richard join us in studio to discuss the tax cut compromise, the health care bill, Bernie Sanders' eight-and-a-half-hour speech before the Senate, and strategies for progressive organizing under a Republican House and narrow Democratic majority in the Senate.
Email this pageGRITtv: Dec. 13, 2010
"I think deal is totally rotten, I think it's the best rotten deal the Democrats could've gotten," says Richard Kim of The Nation of Obama's tax cut compromise. His colleague Betsy Reed, though, notes that by compromising now, heading into an even more conservative Congress, Democrats are setting themselves up for far worse deals in the future--"Where are we going to draw the line ultimately?"Betsy and Richard join us in studio to discuss the tax cut compromise, the health care bill, Bernie Sanders' eight-and-a-half-hour speech before the Senate, and strategies for progressive organizing under a Republican House and narrow Democratic majority in the Senate."It felt like the relationship between state and citizen had totally broken down, like there was no order left," says New Statesman journalist Laurie Penny of the Parliament Square protest last week, as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition voted to pass legislation that may effectively triple the cost of higher education in the UK. While Parliament voted, student protesters were shoved and batoned by police, and Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles found themselves in the middle of the mess.Laurie joins us once again via Skype from London to talk about the protests, the vote, why the student movement is a definining moment for this generation of British youth--and once again, what we can learn from it and apply here."There is a war going on in this country, and I am not referring to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about a war being waged by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country against the working families of the United States of America, against the disappearing and shrinking middle class of our country."That was just one of many, many things Senator Bernie Sanders said on Friday over the course of his eight and a half hours standing on the Senate floor, giving a speech that might not have technically been a filibuster, but certainly served to remind progressives what it looks like when someone fights for their rights. We can't air it all, but we do have a selection from the Senator's speech for you.
Democracy Now! Wed. Nov. 3, 2010
Republicans took control of the House and made gains in the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, just four years after Democrats swept control of Congress. With 13 races yet to be called, Republicans gained 59 seats in the House, the party’s largest win in congressional elections in more than a century. For the past 20 years, renowned filmmaker, author and activist Michael Moore has been one of the most politically active, provocative and successful documentary filmmakers in the business. Moore came to our studio last night for our special live Election Night broadcast to discuss the midterm election results, the Tea Party movement, and the future of the Democratic and Republican parties. The midterm elections saw two key Senate victories for the Tea Party and major losses for the right-leaning Blue Dog Democrats. Meanwhile, the Senate lost one of its most progressive lawmakers with the ouster of Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. We get analysis from four guests: Laura Flanders, host of GritTV; Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation magazine; John Nichols of The Nation magazine; and Vermont-based journalist and author David Goodman. Democracy Now!, a daily independent newshour.
GRITtv: At the Tea Party
This week's special feature delves into the who, the what and the why of the Tea Party. As the left grapples with the reality that tea partiers may be more than a passing trend, what should we know about who these people are who funds them? Is the left fighting against them or enabling them?
GRITtv: Oct. 15 2010
This week's special feature delves into the who, the what, and the why of the Tea Party. As the left grapples with the reality that tea partiers may be more than a passing trend, what should we know about who these people are who funds them? Is the left fighting against them or enabling them? And most importantly, what can be done to turn things around? Laura's new book is out on October 20 and tackles precisely the above: At the Tea Party: The Wing Nuts, Whack Jobs, and Whitey-Whiteness of the New Republican Right and Why We Should Take It Seriously features contributions from Max Blumenthal, Alexander Cockburn, Lisa Duggan, Glenn Greenwald, Melissa Harris-Perry, Chris Hedges, and Jim Hightower amongst many others. Three of the book's contributors, and GRITtv favorites, join us today: Richard Kim is the senior editor of The Nation and co-editor of Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, an American Nightmare, Rebecca Traister, senior staff writer for Salon.com and the author of Big Girls Don't Cry, and historian Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland. Ella Es El Matador, or "She Is The Matador", is a documentary film directed by Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco. Using as a launching pad a 1908 Spanish law barring women from bullfighting, Ella Es El Matador tackles the history of women in the ring, as well as the dangerous dance with Spanish ideas of masculinity that woman bullfighters engage with everytime they spin their cape. Special thanks to Women Make Movies, the film's distributor.
GRITtv: F Word: LBGT Hate Crimes Are in the Headlines But How Can We Make Things Change?
It made headlines when an 18-year-old Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after two other students posted a video of him having sex with another man online. It made news when a "pack" of gang members was busted for attacks that included the sodomy and torture of two teens in The Bronx. It made news when the Republican candidate for governor in New York delivered a speech claiming he thinks homosexuality is a perversion and gay pride parades are "disgusting." And when Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina reiterated that gay people (and unwed mothers) should be banned from teaching in public schools. It makes news. There's also a body count: From Richard Kim in the Nation Magazine: In September alone the body count includes Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old from Indiana who hanged himself after repeatedly being called a "fag" by his classmates; Asher Brown, a 13-year-old Texan who shot himself after his fellow students performed "mock gay acts" on him during gym class; and 13-year-old Seth Walsh from California who hanged himself from a tree in his backyard after being teased for years for being gay. It makes news but what will make it change? Three local churches here in lower Manhattan, are participating in Dan Savage's 'It Gets Better' project this Sunday, to give gay youth hope for the future by telling stories and sharing courage. We'll be bringing you news of the 'It Gets Better' campaign here on GRITtv next week. Want to take part? Post your videos, or your news, at our Facebook page.
GRITtv: Bill Fletcher Jr.: Turning the Tide on the Tea Party
"We need a grassroots coalition that's comparable to the Tea Party movement in many respects. It needs to be fairly decentralized, easy for people to join, and it needs to be audacious," says Bill Fletcher, Jr. of the way forward after the success of this past weekend's One Nation rally in Washington, D.C. This rally, he notes, needs to not simply be a nice day out for progressives--it needs to be a turning of the tide, a reversal of course away from anger and toward solidarity. Bill joins guest host Richard Kim of The Nation to discuss the rally this weekend, the media's reaction to it, and what it really means to be audacious.
GRITtv: Richard Kim: Marriage, Mosques and Mutiny
"Who needs gay bashing when you have the Ground Zero mosque?" Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation, asks guest host Esther Armah.
GRITtv: Richard Kim: Republican Private Property Hypocrisy
Republicans discuss their values as if they are defending small government and private property, but they’ve evolved much more towards being the defense line of corporate America in recent years. Where is their party-loyal consideration of the private property of shrimpers in the gulf coast? Restaurant owners? Other small people’s property and livelihoods affected by the gulf spill? Texas Congressmen Joe Barton recently commented that the administration securing $20 billion to finance handling the repercussions of the BP Oil Spill was a "shakedown" by the Obama administration, indicating the persistent political policies to debate the funding rather than the tragedy itself. Richard Kim of The Nation Magazine joins us in studio to elaborate on the politics dictating these ironies and hypocrisies.
GRITtv: Richard Kim: Conspiracies and the Tea Parties
"In order to respond, alas, we have to understand, and that means going through the looking glass." So wrote Richard Kim of the tea party movement's latest bogeyman--the Cloward-Piven strategy, which demagogues like Glenn Beck proclaim is the strategy for destroying America and putting in place totalitarian socialism. It sounds ridiculous, Richard notes, and that's precisely why it has such power. He joins us in studio to explain where this grand conspiracy theory came from, and how it plays into larger threads within the rise of the organized, angry right under the Obama administration.
